DailyDirt: Sriracha Apocalypse Watch

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Many people are freaking out about the potential shortage of Sriracha, the popular hot sauce (aka "rooster sauce") that has taken the world by storm, after it was reported that the new Sriracha factory in Irwindale, California, was facing a potential shutdown due to noxious fumes coming from the plant -- generated by chili pepper processing -- that were causing eye and throat irritation, as well as headaches, in nearby residents. A judge has now ordered the makers of Sriracha, Huy Fong Foods Inc., to stop any work that generates irritating fumes. While the smelly factory may not be welcome in Irwindale, at least two other cities (Philadelphia and Denton, TX) have suggested that the makers of Sriracha sauce relocate to their neck of the woods. In the meantime, here are a few links with more information about Sriracha, as well as potential alternative hot sauces.

"Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern thinks Sriracha sauce is overrated. While he does love Sriracha, he says there are many better alternative hot sauces, such as the Marie Sharp line from Belize and Crystal from Louisiana. Other chefs recommend hot sauces such as the Rogue, a super-hot Moruga blood orange and Scorpion chili sauce from High River Sauces, and Tobanjan (Japanese) and Kochujang (Korean) sesame-based hot sauces. And if you just can't get away from Sriracha, you can try the Thailand-made Shark Brand Sriracha sauce. [url]

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Sriracha is ok if you are going for it's taste and not it's heat. On the heat side it doesn't offer much. The Crystal Hot Sauce mentioned doesn't really rate for heat at all. It's more like watered down ketchup.

If you need heat in your dish there are tons of hot sauces out there but the majority of them fail to live up to their name. Personally I like Dave's Insanity Sauce. Not for taste but for heat. My palate doesn't require scorching the taste buds beyond recognition to notice the heat but does require something more than the standard line of not really hot hot sauces.

i love hot sauce, but my advanced age won't let me enjoy them very often anymore.

sriracha is one i like a lot. good hot sauce is not about heat. it is about flavor. heat is good, but flavor is what it is all about, and sriracha knocks it out of the park.

a brand of mexican sauce is my fave, though. especially one that is said to be a mayan recipe and is cooked up fat middle of mayan country in the yucatan peninsula. also a couple of sauces from santiago, just south of monterrey that i think are special.

but sriracha is right there with them in my opinion. none of these can be beaten. i hope they get the factory situations straightened out soon. i still recall the odors from hopewell shutting down fort lee when i was in rigger school and the paper factory in savannah. we contractors were working almost outdoors in trailers out back in savannah and we couldn't get away from that awful stench.

"And if you just can't get away from Sriracha, you can try the Thailand-made Shark Brand Sriracha sauce."

That is the normal brand I use. I keep a bottle in the fridge at work and at home. It's runnier than Huy Fong, and a little sweeter as well. Sriracha is great for an ingredient for all kinds of thai type sauces. I rarely just dump it on stuff when I'm at home.

BUT! Huy Fong's is found everywhere, and it's great to add to burgers or pizza or banh mi or whatever, when you're out eating.

Where I work we're soon getting into making SUSHI ROLLS for sale and so in testing we have this stuff. We've had it in the Fridge but I didn't know what it was. A lot of the Filipino's who work here have been using it. Getting into Sushi testing, I had the stuff for the first time. Man is it great. I love hot sauce. These days, I can't take it as strong as I used to. It's not super spicy hot, but it is hot, but it's the taste that's really good. It's also great on all kinds of foods. Try it on Pizza, it's a winner!!!